High-explosive projectile and gun for throwing same



(NoModeL) I -L. GATHMANN. HIGH EXPLOSIVE PROJEGTILE AND GUN FOR THROWINGSAME.

No. 569,190. Patented .0t. 13, 1896'.

,uf a 'unmmlmln "our-19mm 'oo susua SIHHON am UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE;

LOUIS GATHMANN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HIGH-EXPLOSIVE PROJECTILE AND GU N FOR THROWING SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,190, dated October13, 1896.

Application filed July 10, 1893. Serial No. 480,100. (No model.)Patented in England J me 1'7, 1893, No. 9,256.

1' 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS GATHMANN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Guns, (for which I haveobtained Letters Patent of Great Britain, No. 9,256, dated June 17,1893;) and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a novel method of throwing projectilescontaining high explosives, the object being to provide agun from whicha projectile having a light shell and a large charge can be efficientlythrown.

The invention consists in the novel features hereinafter fully describedand specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a central longitudinal sectionof a gun constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the projectile. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of theprojectile. Fig. l is a central longitudinal section of the gun with theprojectile in place. Fig. 5 is a crosssection, on an enlarged scale,taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

It is well known that in order to throw torpedoes or explosiveprojectiles to a great range it is necessary to use power enough to givesaid shell a high muzzle velocity. It is also known that the greater thespeed to be imparted to said torpedo or explosive projectile the heavierit is necessary to construct the latter in order that there may be nodanger of its fracture in undue time. This is principally of importancewhere the torpedo or projectile is loaded with large masses of highexplosives. At present all the known systems have this defect, that thegreater part of the weight of torpedoes or shells consists of metal,thereby leaving but little room for the high explosive and necessitatingthe construction of a heavy piece of ordnance to harmonize with itsprojectile, so that by the present systems such weapon cannot be adaptedfor light-built cruisers or torpedoboats.

It is well known that some of the most powerful high explosives, such,for instance, as

wet gun-cotton, will not explode by a shock or by any pressure that isbrought to bear on them;

My invention has for its object to overcome the above objections bymeans of an improved construction and method and projectile, whereby Iam enabled to fire with safety a torpedo or explosive projectilecontaining a large quantity of high explosive and constructed with alighter shell than can be at present used, and whereby a torpedo orprojectile of a given diameter is enabled to contain a larger amount ofexplosive and to be fired from a lighter gun thanunder the old systems.

According to my invention I prefer to form the gun a with acharge-chamber a of considerable length and having a larger diameterthan that of the torpedo or explosive projectile. The main part a of theforward portion of the bore is of a smaller diameter and is unrifled, sothat the torpedo or projectile b shall loosely fit the same. The muzzleend of the gun has, however, a short rifled portion a preferably a ringscrewed thereon, formed to fit closely the body and wings or ribs 1) ofthe torpedo or projectile b. The

wings or ribs 1) fit freely the smooth-bored part a of the gun, and thetorpedo or projectile b is charged with a high explosive tightly packedtherein, as indicated at 19 and confined therein by disks 0 of asbestosand a metal disk (Z, confined by the open screw-ring 6. Its shell islighter than usual and with a gun formed as shown it extendsconsiderably into the charge-chamber a.

With a gun and torpedo or projectile of the character above described,the gas arising from the gun charge has free access not only to its rearend but also to the exterior of the torpedo or projectile as far as therifled ring or part 00 The shell of the torpedo or projectile istherefore under compression along nearly its entire length, but itsinternal charge of tightly-compressed explosive supports it againstbeing. crushed By these means I avoid the bulging of the shell of thetorpedo or projectile, which sometimes results in its being jammed inthe gun and even in the destruction of the torpedo or projecttile andgun, which would be likely to result if the torpedo or projectile weremade with a light shell and were subjected to the pressure of the gasonly at the rear end.

In order, however, to adapt the gun to the throwing of projectiles togreat distances and with a high muzzle velocity, I preferably employ inall cases a projectile having an opening in its base whereby to permitthe gases of the expelling charge to have free access to the interior ofthe shell, thereby creating an equilibrium of pressures both inside andoutside of the torpedo or projectile, thus enabling the use under allconditions and circumstances of a projectile having a relatively lightshell and a large amount of explosive material. The size of this openingmay vary with the range to which the particular gun is adapted. As shownin the drawings, the base of the shell is entirely open except for thering which is used to mechanically confine the charge within the shell.lVhere free access of the gases of the expelling charge to the interiorof the shell is provided for, the gases exert a pressure upon theexplosive material packed within the shell, tending to f urther compresssuch explosive charge and acting through this tightly compressed massupon the forward end of the shell to drive or draw the latter out of thegun, while at the same time establishing and maintaining an equilibriumof pressures internally and externally and thus insuring the expulsionof the shell from the gun in integral form. The gases of the expellingcharge also penetrate all of the interstices of the explosive materialpacked within the shell.

By using a torpedo or projectile, as herein described, containing alarge body of high explosive and constructed with a light shell it isnot necessary to give it such a velocity as to penetrate the objectaimed at, as on account of its large charge it is only necessary tocause it to strike said object and to explode against the same to insureits destruction or considerable damage thereto.

Referring to German Patent No. 7%,793, granted to me April 27, 1893, Iwish to state that while there is some similarity in construction of thegun as described in said patent I do not herein claim the constructiondescribed in said German patent.

I claim as my invention- 1. A gun for throwing rifled explosiveprojectiles having the bore at the muzzle end thereof rifled and fittingclosely such rifled projectile, the main part of the bore in the rear ofsaid rifled portion and toabout midway between the ends of the gun beingsmooth and larger than the projectile, and the bore in the rear of saidmain part being still larger, while its rear end provides thecharge-chamber, substantially as described.

2. A gun having its bore constructed in three sections, namely, acharge-chamber a, an intermediate portion a smaller than saidcharge-chamber co, and the rifled muzzle portion a smaller than saidintermediate portion a substantially as described.

3. The herein-described improvement in ordnance consisting of a gunhaving an enlarged bore and adapted to a projectile of smaller diameterthan the bore, said projectile having an open base through which aportion of the expelling charge may pass, while the remainder of theexpelling-gases fill the enlarged bore and envelop the shell,substantially as described.

4. The method of firing a light shell charged with high or otherexplosives, which consists in exploding the expelling charge at the baseof the shell and simultaneously transmitting the pressure due to theexplosion of the propelling charge to the interior and exterior of theshell, whereby the interior and exterior pressures thereon are soequalized as to sup port and secure its expulsion in integral form,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS GATIIMANN.

Vitnesses:

HARRY COBB KENNEDY, RUDOLPH XV. LoTz.

